How many general resurrections will there be for the righteous?

[tonychanyt]

Revelation 20

4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. 6Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

Only the righteous are involved in the first resurrection.

After a thousand years,

11Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Are the righteous involved in the second resurrection?

 

[ZephBonkerer]

The way I read Revelations 20, it would look something like this:

The first resurrection is only for the righteous, or justified. They will participate in the governance of Earth for the 1,000 years after the Great Tribulation, and after the Lord defeats His enemies at the Battle of Armageddon.

The second resurrection is only for the wicked and will take place after the 1,000 year reign ends and when Satan is released from the abyss. They are resurrected to stand before the Lord while He is seated at the Great White Throne. These wicked souls will answer for their deeds and pay for their crimes when their sentence is pronounced. Revelation 20:10 speaks of their fate. It sure will suck to be one of those people.

 

[CoreyD]

I almost thought I was going to agree with @ZephBonkerer. Almost.

Both Jesus and the apostle Paul, refers to a resurrection of two kinds of persons - the righteous and the unrighteous.
Matthew 5:28, 29; Acts 24:15

Neither of them mentions the wicked, but depending on which Bible translation we read, we can be misled into thinking that the wicked will be resurrected.
However, the wicked are those who will not be forgiven in this life, nor that to come. Mark 3:29; Hebrews 10:26-31
There is no hope for the wicked. Proverbs 10:28; Proverbs 11:7;

Hebrews 10:26-31 helps us with what makes one wicked. He hears the word, but refuses to live by it.
We know the righteous is the one that hears the word, and does it. Luke 8:16; Luke 11:28
The unrighteous person is described in Jonah 4:11 - the one that does not do right because they don't know. Maybe they haven't heard the word, and had the opportunity to live by it.

The first resurrection, as described in Revelation 20:4-6, involve only those who will rule as kings and priest with Christ for the 1,000 years.
The second resurrection, would not involve these, but would be those mentioned by Jesus and Paul. These are the ones whom the Bible says books will be opened.
It looks like they will have a lot to learn, and that is understandable, since dying without knowing about God, we wouldn't expect God to resurrect you and not teach you what you need to know in order to live then, and after the thousand years. Especially since you will face Satan then.

 

[ZephBonkerer]

I almost thought I was going to agree with @ZephBonkerer. Almost.

Both Jesus and the apostle Paul, refers to a resurrection of two kinds of persons - the righteous and the unrighteous.
Matthew 5:28, 29; Acts 24:15

Neither of them mentions the wicked, but depending on which Bible translation we read, we can be misled into thinking that the wicked will be resurrected.
However, the wicked are those who will not be forgiven in this life, nor that to come. Mark 3:29; Hebrews 10:26-31
There is no hope for the wicked. Proverbs 10:28; Proverbs 11:7;

Hebrews 10:26-31 helps us with what makes one wicked. He hears the word, but refuses to live by it.
We know the righteous is the one that hears the word, and does it. Luke 8:16; Luke 11:28
The unrighteous person is described in Jonah 4:11 - the one that does not do right because they don't know. Maybe they haven't heard the word, and had the opportunity to live by it.

The first resurrection, as described in Revelation 20:4-6, involve only those who will rule as kings and priest with Christ for the 1,000 years.
The second resurrection, would not involve these, but would be those mentioned by Jesus and Paul. These are the ones whom the Bible says books will be opened.
It looks like they will have a lot to learn, and that is understandable, since dying without knowing about God, we wouldn't expect God to resurrect you and not teach you what you need to know in order to live then, and after the thousand years. Especially since you will face Satan then.

Actually, there IS a resurrection of the unrighteous. Their resurrection is to have their day in court at the Great White Throne. Then judgment will be pronounced. At that point, they'll probably wish they were never even born.

Nobody needs to be resurrected twice. There's no reason to believe the first resurrection is only for a subset of believers, and the second resurrection is for the others.

 

[CoreyD]

Actually, there IS a resurrection of the unrighteous.

There is going to be, according to Jesus, and Paul Matthew 5:28, 29; Acts 24:15

Their resurrection is to have their day in court at the Great White Throne. Then judgment will be pronounced. At that point, they'll probably wish they were never even born.

Many people think that way, but many people don't understand how that makes sense, or why people believe it.
However, I wouldn't mind hearing you explain it.

Nobody needs to be resurrected twice.

That's right. The Bible says they are resurrected only once. Except for those whom Jesus resurrected when he was on earth - Jairus' daughter, Lazarus, and then there are those Elijah, resurrected, but they are the exceptions.

There's no reason to believe the first resurrection is only for a subset of believers, and the second resurrection is for the others.

I would say, accepting what the Bible says, is a good reason.
Revelation 20:6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.

 

[ZephBonkerer]

Many people think that way, but many people don't understand how that makes sense, or why people believe it.
However, I wouldn't mind hearing you explain it.

Prior to the resurrection, the dead will be disembodied spirits. They will have bodies like we have today when they are resurrected. These bodies will be suitable for the environment for which they are in, whether that environment be the Kingdom of Heaven or the Lake of Fire.

I would say, accepting what the Bible says, is a good reason.
Revelation 20:6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.

Rev 20:6 sounds like it is referring to all believers, not just some of them. Believers will not be subject to the second death. That verse alone would not be enough to show that only some believers will be with Christ during the 1,000 year reign.

If that were so, then where are the rest of the believers? And why were they excluded from this?

 

[ByTheSpirit]

Revelation 20

Only the righteous are involved in the first resurrection.

After a thousand years,

Are the righteous involved in the second resurrection?

There is only one resurrection of the righteous and there is only one resurrection of the unrighteous.

Do not be amazed at this, for the hour is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice and come out—those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.
John 5:28‭-‬29 BSB

 

[CoreyD]

Prior to the resurrection, the dead will be disembodied spirits. They will have bodies like we have today when they are resurrected. These bodies will be suitable for the environment for which they are in, whether that environment be the Kingdom of Heaven or the Lake of Fire.

Many people have different beliefs, and like yourself, voice them without giving any scripture to support what they are saying.
I can imagine there are people who wonder why they do that.
Some persons think it's because people get used to stating their ideas in place of scripture, as scripture no longer 'speaks'
I tend to think along similar lines.
What do you think?

Rev 20:6 sounds like it is referring to all believers, not just some of them. Believers will not be subject to the second death. That verse alone would not be enough to show that only some believers will be with Christ during the 1,000 year reign.

If a person reads that scripture in isolation, and assumes, it's easy to think that.
If however, a person takes these scriptures together, they would realize that indeed the Bible does show clearly that only a "subset of believers" experience the first resurrection, and also tells us they are the only ones privileged to sit on thrones as kings and priests.

Revelation 7:4, 9
4 Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.
9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.

Revelation 20:4, 6
4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand

Revelation 14:1, 4
1 Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.
4 These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they remained virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among mankind and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb.

If that were so, then where are the rest of the believers? And why were they excluded from this?

Good question.
Please see this post for the answer.